The present invention relates to a wood chuck used to hold logs on a veneer cutting lathe. And more particularly the invention includes a wood chuck having a gripping end for more securely holding the ends of a log and reducing the occurrences of spin outs, and split log ends.
It is well known to support wood logs in a plywood lathe chuck for cutting veneer from the logs from the outer diameter thereof. The ends of the logs are supported by chucks attached to the rotary spindles of the lathe as illustrated in the following patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,141,397; 4,271,881 and 4,342,348.
In order to utilize the maximum amount of wood from the logs and use less expensive raw material it is desirable to peel a log down to the smallest feasible diameter. This generally requires that the chuck must be not larger than the smallest diameter to which the log is peeled. Therefore, because of the small gripping area between the chucks and ends of the log the chucks are not able to securely grip and hold the ends of the log when cutting veneer. That is, the chucks will frequently split the ends of the log, and in many instances "spin out" will occur which is the condition that happens when the chucks lose their grip on the ends of the logs and spin relatively to the logs. Of course, split ends and spin outs delay production, increase expense, and create excess wasted materials.
Therefore, the present invention is the provision of wood chucks for use in a veneer lathe that more securely grip the ends of logs and reduce spin outs and splitting of the log ends.